Why do parasocial fandoms fall apart?
Fandoms fracture after a high-attention crisis when a creator’s rhetoric turns inconsistent and platforms amplify the contradiction.
Hypotheses.
What the paper argues, written so it can be tested.
- H1
After a high-attention crisis, the fandoms whose creator’s rhetoric shifts most across ethos, pathos, logos, and kairos lose the most attachment.
- H2
The more a platform amplifies contradictory content after the crisis, the faster fans split into defenders, critics, and lurkers.
The model.
A four-phase lifecycle: formation, peak persuasive flow, crisis and contradiction, and fragmentation. Investment rises, breaks at the crisis, and splits three ways.
Watching someone up close through a screen.
Photo: Tiyas GhoshPartial abstract.
Parasocial fandoms are a defining feature of the online attention economy, yet many eventually break apart. The paper proposes a four-phase lifecycle in which emotionally immersive rhetoric, peak platform engagement, and high-attention crises create the conditions for a breakdown in persuasive flow.
Persuasion, Crisis, and Fragmentation: A Framework for Understanding Parasocial Fandom Disillusionment
Key sources
- Horton, D., and Wohl, R. R. (1956). Mass communication and para-social interaction.
- Eyal, K., and Cohen, J. (2006). When good friends say goodbye: A parasocial breakup study.
- Marwick, A. E., and boyd, d. (2011). To see and be seen: Celebrity practice on Twitter.
How we’ll test it.
No results yet. This is the plan: the data, the measure, and what would count as support.
The data
Creator transcripts and fan comments before and after a crisis, across YouTube, Twitch, and TikTok. The paper planned to collect them and could not; this is the step that collects them.
The measure
Rhetorical consistency per creator, period by period, and the share of fans who defend, criticize, or go quiet.
What would count as support
A drop in consistency that comes before the split and predicts its size better than the size of the scandal alone.
How it connects to Pulp.
TrueAura models personas and persuasive resonance over time.
Continues as a special project: Parasocial online communities
Also in Persuasion
- How does crime news shape what people fear, and what they support?
A.V., CUNY Graduate Center
Doing work like this?
Students from any school or field, and mentors from academia or industry: get in touch.